The abyssal whip is a one-handed Melee weapon which requires an Attack level of 70 to wield. The whip is among the most powerful and popular non-degradable melee weapons and is capable of attacking at the same speed of daggers and scimitars at 2.4 seconds per hit.

A major downside of the abyssal whip is that it is not effective for training Strength; the only attack option available which will provide Strength experience is the "lash" attack option, which is a controlled attack style and provides shared experience. As a result, several slightly weaker weapons are instead ideal for training Strength directly.

Furthermore, the whip is sparingly used by Strength pures as the wielder must incur Attack and/or Defence experience.

The abyssal whip has a special attack, Energy Drain, which consumes 50% of the player's special attack energy, increases accuracy by 25%, and in PVP, transfers 10% of the target's run energy to the wielder.

Players can attach a kraken tentacle to the abyssal whip to create an abyssal tentacle, which requires an Attack level of 75 and has +8 higher slash attack and +4 higher Strength bonus, equating to about 1 higher damage. This process, however, will cause the whip to be consumed, and cannot be undone. Once the abyssal tentacle consumes all of its 10,000 charges, the player will retain the kraken tentacle.